Islamic State and al-Qaida threat is intense in Africa, with growing risks in Syria, UN experts say

The threat from Islamic State and al-Qaida extremists and their affiliates is most intense in parts of Africa, and risks are growing in Syria, which both groups view as a “a strategic base for external operations,” U.N. experts said in a new report.

Their report to the U.N. Security Council circulated Wednesday said West Africa's al-Qaida-linked Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin group, known as JNIM, and East Africa's al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab have continued to increase the territory under their control.